Bell Shakespeare.

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
DIRECTED BY LEE LEWIS

Olivia falls for new boy Cesario who is really Viola dressed as a boy. Viola has her eye on Orsino, while Orsino pines for Olivia, who is ever more taken with Cesario. That is until she claps eyes on Viola’s twin brother, who looks a little too much like his sister. To this, add a sexually frustrated steward, a randy old drunk, a maid with attitude, a fop, a fool and a clown and what begins in the aftermath of catastrophe soon transforms into gender-bending mayhem.

With a talented cast of seven, including Max Cullen as Feste, director Lee Lewis (Love-Lies-Bleeding, Stoning Mary, Honour) explores the tragedy of losing loved ones through disaster against the ecstasy of losing oneself when falling in love. For at the heart of Shakespeare's best loved comedy is hope – as well as a poignant reminder that there's more to love than first meets the eye...

A shipwreck washes young Viola up on the foreign shores of Illyria, separated from her beloved twin brother Sebastian. She dresses herself as a man, changes her name to Cesario, and becomes a servant to the Duke Orsino. The Duke is in love with a local gentlewoman, Olivia, and sends Viola/Cesario to woo her on his behalf. Unfortunately, Olivia falls in love with Viola, who has in turn become smitten with the Duke, completing the confused love triangle.

Meanwhile, high-jinks abound in Olivia’s household as her uncle Sir Toby and his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek drink and carouse and generally make mischief. The two are upbraided by the pompous steward, Malvolio, and decide to take revenge with the help of Olivia’s maidservant, Maria.
 
Sebastian, Viola’s brother, appears in the town with Antonio (an enemy of Orsino’s). Despite the danger, Antonio helps Sebastian, lending him some money as well. Elsewhere, Sir Toby incites Sir Andrew to challenge Viola/Cesario to a duel, but just as the two are about to fight, Antonio comes to her aid, mistaking her for Sebastian.  Sebastian, meanwhile, appears at Olivia’s palace, and when she declares her love for him (thinking, of course, that he is Cesario), he returns her love, and they rush off to the chapel to be married.

The Duke shows up in a jealous rage, threatening to kill Cesario/Viola, who is surprised to learn she is now married to Olivia. The police arrest Antonio, who asks Viola to repay his money, confusing her even more. The tangle of mistaken identities is finally unscrambled when Sebastian appears, reuniting the twins and revealing the secret of Viola’s womanhood, at which point the Duke promptly returns her love.Malvolio is released from his delusion and Sir Toby and Maria make a third marriage and a happy ending to the story.
 

Director Lee Lewis
Designer Anna Tregloan
Lighting Designer Luiz Pampolha
Sound Designers Paul Charlier & Steve Toulmin
Assistant Director Jessica Tuckwell
Fight Director Scott Witt

With
Adam Booth
Kit Brookman
Max Cullen
Andrea Demetriades
Brent Hill
Ben Wood
Elan Zavelsky